1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for allowing a plurality of information processing apparatuses to share moving image files on a network.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional moving image sharing service allows a moving image file uploaded by a user to be shared with his friends via the Internet or other networks. The uploaded moving image files are generally taken by the uploading user by using an imaging apparatus and is recorded on the imaging apparatus or on a recording medium.
In the above-described moving image sharing service, a moving image file is shared among a moving image uploading user and uploaded image viewing users in the following manner. A moving image uploading user uploads a moving image file from the user's apparatus onto a web server. Then, a viewing user downloads the moving image file onto the viewing user's apparatus from the web server.
Meanwhile, considering the protection of copyright or the saving of the server resource, an administrator of the web server may provide a restriction of the maximum file size or reproduction time length on an uploaded moving image file. Therefore, if a user who likes to upload a high-quality moving image file that records a moving image of a long recording time sequence, then it is for the user to generate a moving image file suitable for uploading (hereinafter simply referred to as an “uploading moving image file”), which satisfies the restriction condition of the moving image sharing service based on the original moving image file.
Accordingly, if a user likes to upload a moving image file of a size exceeding a maximum size condition applied on an uploading destination web server, the moving image uploading user is to generate an uploading moving image file by editing the moving image file by operating an information processing apparatus having a moving image editing function.
When a user has uploaded a series of moving image files, which have been generated by dividing an original moving image file into a plurality of moving image files, a viewing user cannot easily know whether a subsequent moving image file, whose content is continued from the one that the viewing user has already downloaded, exists.
In addition, even if a subsequent moving image file continued from the already-downloaded moving image file exists, then a viewing user cannot easily know which moving image file is continued from the downloaded file.